Johannesburg - The song "shoot the boer" sounds like a "lullaby" when sung by Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane," Judge Collin Lamont said on Monday.

This was in contrast to the way ANC Youth League president Julius Malema sang it, Lamont said in judgment on a hate speech case against Malema.

"[The words were] put to music by Collins Chabane but sound different to the way Malema sang it," said Lamont.

"The effect is to produce clip call and clip response," he said of Malema's delivery.

He described Chabane's version as "a gentle hymn".

At a recent National Union of Metalworkers of SA strike, workers were heard singing an adaptation of it.

Lamont said it was not just the words of a song which could constitute hate speech but also accompanying gestures.

On video footage presented to the court, Lamont said Malema could be clearly seen holding his fingers at an angle, like a gun.

The judge complained about the weapons carried into court during Malema's trial.

AfriForum Youth, which is part of the rights lobby group AfriForum, opened a civil case against Malema in the Equality Court after he sang the words "dubhula ibhunu", which translate to "shoot the boer".

It believed the words were threatening to minorities and a threat to the safety of Afrikaners and farmers and that the phrase was hate speech.

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